Frugal Steps and Stumbles

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Frugal Steps:

I picked up three shifts this week.

I got a random survey email from CVS, and I earned $5 in Extra Care Bucks just for 10 minutes of my time. (If CVS ever asks you to join its survey panel- say yes!)

CVS also sent me an email giving me a random $2 in Extra Care Bucks today. Score! I now have $17 in ECBs to use.

I got a random “we want you back” email from Vudu, giving me a $3 rental credit. I’m waiting for the Absolutely Fabulous movie to be available to rent before I use that.

My mom sent us home with fried chicken, grapes, ham, corn, meatballs, and crescent rolls Sunday.

I froze two pints of pinto beans for later, since we were eating up mom’s leftovers for a couple of days.

We didn’t make anything on the menu other than a big roast last week, so my shopping list is very small this week.

The mister went to Sam’s and bought sugar, flour, raisins, and Clif bars in bulk.

I hit $38 in rebates and bonuses for Ibotta since October 23rd. If you wonder how it works, you can check out my Ibotta post.

Frugal Stumbles:

It’s mid-month and we already used all of our eating-out money! I have had a migraine that lasted from Monday to Friday. The mister picked up burgers one night, and I picked up pizza last night. Add this to last weekend’s entertainment, and I am tapped out. I already know I will go over budget this week when I meet coworkers for a team building on Thursday at a restaurant.

The mister is at a hockey tournament today, and I had to hire a sitter for several hours so I can get my homework done. I just can’t write a small paper with three children 8 and under milling about and dive-bombing me from behind my office chair.

My school billed me for an unexpected $333. Apparently, though they still force us to buy books from their book store, they are now billing us after the fact for books, instead of rolling it into the tuition we are billed. No one bothered to tell that to any of us though, so I received an email this week asking me to pay. To say we are annoyed by this is an understatement.

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About Me

We're a family of five with a few lofty goals: pay cash for graduate school without incurring debt, pay off our mortgage in 10 years or less, and be ready to retire within 15 years. With three young children and only one full-time income, it will require a hefty dose of planning and frugality, and a smidge of ingenuity. Can we do it?